Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
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- Fantasy
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- pathfinder
- Location
- Germany
Looking back it's kinda funny how often we voted that we wanted nothing to do with the Drow, yet here we are drawn into the matter anyway.
Well, at least Elves (demonic or not) should have good loot for our lightly-armored and very magical group.
Well, at least Elves (demonic or not) should have good loot for our lightly-armored and very magical group.
Vote closed.
- Location
- Germany
Yeah, that list is kinda helpful at times.That is a good point, but there is always the PFSRD NPC page to pull from:
NPCs – d20PFSRD
www.d20pfsrd.com
The Alchemist from the pirate crew was one of those, for example.
Arc 9 Post 51: Where Lions Might Wander
New
Where Lions Might Wander
12th of Kuthona 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)
Alas, the silence does not grow any easier to bear as the six of you speak with one another about the sorts of bargains you might reach and the worth of them. Mina argues that it is better to have some friends than none and the Pathfinders would be present wherever your wandering feet might carry you, Sirim urges caution and silence above all, for if a man would sell you the names of others who passes through his door than he would sell yours just as readily while Cob grumbles that all this is dumb since you just invited Ulenar to a fun raid yet all he's done is talk.
All you can give him is a sympathetic look and a shrug.
You'd think by now they had learned that caution sometimes dictates that knives should be drawn early. Maybe they had and then they had forgotten, too used to their foes being other humans who just happened to wear a different colored cloak.
"Mention the Governor, see if you can get more out of him," you counsel.
"Did the Governor strike you as more of a gambler than brave, Sir Fahlspar?" He asks after a moment, the answer in the question contained so he continues. "He sent us, strangers of fel countenance, to find a danger to his city on practically the eve of a royal visit. That speaks of a deep desire that this be held in secret. He might be wrong of course, he might be a fool, but we cannot judge after having met the man all of once and things are easier said than unsaid."
The others consider and after a few moments agree, so all the shade says to the Venture-Captain is: "Deal."
Sirim Diplomacy to Convince the Others (DC 25/30): 1d20+13 = 25 (Success)
A pouch of coin changes hands, the weight assayed with a flick of the wrist, and then Ulenar speaks again: "First of all, a few weeks back it was a home cousin of House Basri, that is what the locals call someone from a branch of the family who claims lands outside of Taldor, the better houses give them work for the patriarch to earn their keep. They postured and pontificated, as is their wont, said the Viridian Throne would be most displeased if we kept digging into who was selling purple worm poison to street thugs in the Dog's Teeth. At the time I was inclined to think duergar. We kept digging, of course, and got some pretty strong hints at it being one of the shameful kin, though none so strong as who showed up next."
Ah... it seems that alchemist is doing more than just selling off his rejected batches to the locals. Ironic that they might have not been noticed for months yet if they were just a little less enterprising.
"Deep woods hunter with a tame lion, if you can call it that, white as snow and growling like a blizzard about to fall. I don't think he ever was inside a human city, the elf that is, not just the lion. He informed us that he and his associates would be handling the drow, and much more convincingly threatened the ire of Queen Telandia if anyone interferred. More Society bands than I can count walked into those woods thinking they can just pick through the bones of old palaces and abandoned groves only to fall afoul of silent arrows, and any who thinks elven hunters cannot range beyond their bounds has never seen a man of Avistan and all her forests."
"But you saw him?" Cob frowns. "Showed up with his lion."
"That, master goblin is even worse, a mark of desperation. They are dangerous enough when their hand doesn't twitch on their bowstring."
"And yet you're willing to go against them if we do?" you cannot help but press.
"There's a saying in the Grand Lodge that's been passed down for as long as the Wayfinders have been around: 'A Pathfinder can do anything they put their mind to, but that doesn't mean they can do everything'. I find myself rather short of the sort of people I would trust to kill drow raiders without making a public spectacle of it. With your addition it would be worth the gamble."
But only if we join, and only in exchange for that favor, you add mentally.
"This lion-tamer, was he a knight, a noble of some kind?" Mina asked.
"If someone were unwise enough to bring him to court in Oppara he'd perhaps introduce himself as such, but elves are wise enough not to put a tie a ranger in silk ribbons and expect him to prance. I suspect he was a Lantern Bearer, one of those tasked with fighting the shameful kin and keeping the shame from spreading. I do hope that was worth your gold." For what it might be worth, the words are spoken with sincerity.
***
"So what do we have?" you ask as soon as you are well past his door and under different glamors to boot. "Kyonin elves working with House Basri, again supposedly against the drow, though they certainly do not seem concerned with Taldan law, the WWC potentially being involved in the slave side of the trade, and Skal up in the Teeth selling leftover drugs and alchemical poisons... Is that it?"
"It's more than enough. The elves are interfering in sovereign Taldan territory, interfering with bringing their fallen kin to justice!" Sir Pisca growls. "My grandmother will be bringing this up in the Senate."
"Lets deal with the trouble in front of us first," Mina tries to calm him. "We still need more hands for the distillery."
"Do we?" Sirim asks. "Stealth and speed might serve more than strength of numbers, especially if we want to keep the incursion away from the eyes of the general public. One assumes the Lord Governor does not wish to greet the princess in an air of generalized panic and paranoia."
Do you call in some backup?
[] Yes, you could use the help
-[] Leontas and company, they are used to fighting demons and their servants
-[] Urgor can probably find some dwarves looking to crack elven skulls for pay, and the short folk are stout against fear and poison
-[] Go to the Guard, they have the numbers and it's their city
[] No, you can do this alone, without risk of spreading news of the drow
[] Write in
OOO: This is another one of those moments when Kori not being in charge means that the other party members get to roll to convince each other. Also, the money has been updated on the front page.
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Massgamer
Advance toward the Future
- Location
- The Future
For all his gambling habits, you can't deny that Pisca is a patriot if nothing else.
Hmm, can we do this on our own? Maybe, but I would much prefer to know enemy numbers and composition before assuming anything.
@Goldfish could we scry and find out? Maybe send over Cob and Sirim to check like suggested earlier?
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
So, things just got even more complicated.
Is House Basri complicit and secretly allied with the Drow, or are they just trying to keep the existence of the Drow from becoming common knowledge? I'm paranoid enough to still suspect the former, but the latter makes more sense. If they were working with the Drow, it's more likely they would have tried to assassinate Ulenar rather than pressure him to remain silent for a little while.
We are going to have to scout the distillery to some extent before we raid it. I don't think we have the time to scout it, then go for additional help, then come back to raid it, though. The side trip to the Pathfinder Lodge was informative, but otherwise an unfortunate drain on our limited time.
@DragonParadox, the dates of the past few chapters have been messed up. As of the chapter from Monday it was the 18th, but the following chapter it went back to the 16th, then yesterday to the 12th.
I think it should have been the 19th for the past several chapters? Also, how long until dawn now?
And speaking of time, we bought those scrolls on the 16th. Have Mina or Sirim had a chance to learn any of them? Given the situation we find ourselves in, it could be helpful if they've each managed to squeeze enough time in to learn at least one.
Is House Basri complicit and secretly allied with the Drow, or are they just trying to keep the existence of the Drow from becoming common knowledge? I'm paranoid enough to still suspect the former, but the latter makes more sense. If they were working with the Drow, it's more likely they would have tried to assassinate Ulenar rather than pressure him to remain silent for a little while.
Scrying isn't possible at our current level, unfortunately, and we don't have any scrolls for it. That's an oversight on my part that we should try to do something about when we buy more scrolls. It would have been very helpful right about now.
We are going to have to scout the distillery to some extent before we raid it. I don't think we have the time to scout it, then go for additional help, then come back to raid it, though. The side trip to the Pathfinder Lodge was informative, but otherwise an unfortunate drain on our limited time.
I actually like the way you're handling this aspect of the party dynamics a lot, dude. It feels a lot more natural to me.
I feel your pain, buddy. This dude is no fun.
@DragonParadox, the dates of the past few chapters have been messed up. As of the chapter from Monday it was the 18th, but the following chapter it went back to the 16th, then yesterday to the 12th.
I think it should have been the 19th for the past several chapters? Also, how long until dawn now?
And speaking of time, we bought those scrolls on the 16th. Have Mina or Sirim had a chance to learn any of them? Given the situation we find ourselves in, it could be helpful if they've each managed to squeeze enough time in to learn at least one.
Fixed, thanks for the heads up
You are at two hours to dawn and unfortunately Mina and Sirim have not had the chance to learn the spells. Especially for Sirim the process is complicated by the fact that he does not have a spellbook and so takes longer to inscribe them on the shadow-stuff of his new form.
- Book of Shadows (Ex): Having internalized his knowledge of wizardry in a desperate attempt to escape capture the wizard no longer has need of, nor can he made use of an external spellbook. Due to the added complexity of inscribing entire spells within his shadowy form the wizard requires twice as much time to inscribe a new spell. This class feature replaces Arcane Bond.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Okay, we definitely need help if we're going to do this. The numbers at the distillery are unknown, but we can't just take our chances and hope they'll be low. The Drow are far more comfortable in the dark, after all, so odds are good they do most of their business at night.
I'm going to lean toward Leontas and his crew. They're used to working together, and wish us, and shouldn't balk at facing the Drow.
[X] Yes, you could use the help
-[X] Leontas and company, they are used to fighting demons and their servants
Once she's had her Ring of Sustenance on for the first full week and only needs 2 hours of sleep per night, it would be a good chance for Mina to start learning her new spells.
I'm going to lean toward Leontas and his crew. They're used to working together, and wish us, and shouldn't balk at facing the Drow.
-[X] Leontas and company, they are used to fighting demons and their servants
Yeah, I figured that would be the case.
Once she's had her Ring of Sustenance on for the first full week and only needs 2 hours of sleep per night, it would be a good chance for Mina to start learning her new spells.
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
It's assumptions, but. They are a house of diplomats, so it's reasonable they had elven contacts. The elves want to suppress the knowledge of the drow, but they need an ally on the inside to work within Taldan limitations. House Basri is likely helping them with that, seeing as elves make use of their assets like Captain Scorpio.
They might have contact with the drow also, just from the drug network they are running/covering up, though it's up in the air whether they do it at the behest of the elves or it was that connection that made the elves approach those who are in the know anyway. Either way, it's unlikely they are allied with the drow, but they have their dealings, and the necessity to keep them hidden might prompt them to act in concert with our enemies.
The part I don't get is who spread the rumors of dark elves and blames the Governor for it. He is accused of being a pawn to elves and dark elves alike, so if the story of them operating secretly in Cassomir under the guard's watch turn out true, this would be a horrible look for him. Is there a third party involved (fifth actually, counting the elves, the drow, the Basri and the Governor as separate players), or is House Basri planning to backstab all of them? And where does the royal visit feature in all this?
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General xenophobia would point to the Warhawks and the Governor did say they were making trouble, though then again a skilled manipulator would be aware they these kind of rumors would point to them and use that.
It was really fun building up the politics of the situation on the way here, can you tell?
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Hmm, maybe we're going about this the wrong way. The more I think about it, the more I'm coming to realize that we don't actually need to raid the distillery and fight the Drow ourselves.
We know they're operating in the city, processing slaves into drugs to sell in the Darklands and elsewhere, working with criminals and other disreputable folk to facilitate their operation, and that House Basri knows about it and is actively suppressing this information from reaching the proper authorities for whatever reason.
Our mission from the governor was to investigate the Drow presence beneath the city. Well, we've done better than that and confirmed they're actually not even bothering to hide under the city. There are at least a dozen of them working on various tasks in the city itself, and with a royal visit just days away, the timing cannot be assumed to be a coincidence. Not all missions involve blood, fire, and killing, and this one was right up our alley. We worked the stealthy, investigative angle, didn't raise a ruckus, and learned what we needed to know. I like extra XP as much as the next guy, but I also don't want to tangle with the Drow unnecessarily.
Changing my vote.
[X] Meet with Skali at the Locker as agreed upon. We'll determine exactly how to deal with him after we see how many slaves he brings, and their condition. Purchasing them outright might be the most expedient solution for now. We want to get to the Locker well before dawn, if possible.
-[X] Afterwards in the light of day, we'll seek out the governor to share what we've learned with him. He needs to know exactly what is happening in his city and how the Elves of House Basri have been acting to cover up the misdeeds of their cousins.
We know they're operating in the city, processing slaves into drugs to sell in the Darklands and elsewhere, working with criminals and other disreputable folk to facilitate their operation, and that House Basri knows about it and is actively suppressing this information from reaching the proper authorities for whatever reason.
Our mission from the governor was to investigate the Drow presence beneath the city. Well, we've done better than that and confirmed they're actually not even bothering to hide under the city. There are at least a dozen of them working on various tasks in the city itself, and with a royal visit just days away, the timing cannot be assumed to be a coincidence. Not all missions involve blood, fire, and killing, and this one was right up our alley. We worked the stealthy, investigative angle, didn't raise a ruckus, and learned what we needed to know. I like extra XP as much as the next guy, but I also don't want to tangle with the Drow unnecessarily.
Changing my vote.
[X] Meet with Skali at the Locker as agreed upon. We'll determine exactly how to deal with him after we see how many slaves he brings, and their condition. Purchasing them outright might be the most expedient solution for now. We want to get to the Locker well before dawn, if possible.
-[X] Afterwards in the light of day, we'll seek out the governor to share what we've learned with him. He needs to know exactly what is happening in his city and how the Elves of House Basri have been acting to cover up the misdeeds of their cousins.
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- Location
- Germany
So, the general assumption would be that the Elves of Kyonin wouldn't cover up the presence of their cousins for fun.
We must assume that these are hostile factions.
So maybe they want to kill the Drow themselves, quietly and without making their presence known, or giving the general public a reason to think worse of Elves in general.
Best case we can let them fight it out?
We must assume that these are hostile factions.
So maybe they want to kill the Drow themselves, quietly and without making their presence known, or giving the general public a reason to think worse of Elves in general.
Best case we can let them fight it out?
- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
I really like it. Makes the other part members feel deeper/more real.
[X] Yes, you could use the help
-[X] Leontas and company, they are used to fighting demons and their servants
-[X] Gorok takes (and keeps) the wand of CLW that Kori has.
@DragonParadox It was the 13th when we got told how much the adamantine was going to profit us. It's now the 17th.
Do we think Leontas would have purchased a few PfE items/cheaper magical items/potions for himself and the mercs who want to stay working as mercs?
I'm happy to have Kori drop a few PfE on a few folk that need it, but it'd be nice to not have to juggle spell durations, or at least juggle fewer.
Also, @ thread, I think that we should buy a third CLW wand, one for each party member that can use one, and in the meantime Gorok should take Kori's.
Can we make that swap before the next update? I'mma add it to my vote.
My reasoning is that it's better to spread out sources of healing, in case of emergencies/splitting party/or the incredibly rare moments where Gorok might not have anything better to do with his action; and currently Kori can heal the most with his spells so he gets the least utility from a wand.
Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
That's my current take on the situation. I think we should just inform the governor of what we've learned and let him deal with House Basri and the Drow as he sees fit. Not our problem.
We'll be expecting reimbursement for our expenses, of course. Confirming that House Basri is involved cost us 1,000 gold, learning about the Drow operation and their numbers without alerting them to our investigation could cost much more, depending on how many slaves we need to buy from Skali.
I hope him and his people have invested wisely, too. If all they bought was PfE items for themselves, that would be pretty helpful. As folks who regularly fought demonic forces, they should know the value of those things now that they can afford them.
There is a partially used Wand of CLW among the pirate loot that I wanted to keep for Gorok to use in emergencies.
I'm not opposed to buying another fresh one, though. We still need to purchase some more scrolls when we get a chance.
@DragonParadox, how much longer do we need to stay in the city before the adamantine is fully processed?
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Oh sure, they are going to be kitted out with the money
Three more days, until the 20th.
- Location
- being near locations is my passion.
@Goldfish I really don't think we should bring Lenotas if we're buying the slaves - right now we're unconnected with the people that brought in the adamantine.
We probably won't need muscle, we have intimidation rolls and Skali knows there's at least one wizard. And why should Skali try to double-cross us when it risks drawing attention to his operation?
Lenotas & Chums would be useful to provide numbers to help prevent escapees from the distillery, but if we're attacked by Skali I don't think there's any particular reason to worry about any of his minions escaping? Even if there is, I think that we should try and stop any potential investigations by the drow & friends into how their scheme got made from having the 'Lenotas' lead, as that will cause them to consider us.
You're pivoting your plan, but I think leaving Lenotas in creates more risk than it provides utility.
We probably won't need muscle, we have intimidation rolls and Skali knows there's at least one wizard. And why should Skali try to double-cross us when it risks drawing attention to his operation?
Lenotas & Chums would be useful to provide numbers to help prevent escapees from the distillery, but if we're attacked by Skali I don't think there's any particular reason to worry about any of his minions escaping? Even if there is, I think that we should try and stop any potential investigations by the drow & friends into how their scheme got made from having the 'Lenotas' lead, as that will cause them to consider us.
You're pivoting your plan, but I think leaving Lenotas in creates more risk than it provides utility.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
To spread rumors of the drow you'd need to know there are drow, and for it to be effective you'd need to know the drow are in Cassomir.
The Warhawks might be used to propagate them, but someone must be feeding them the right kind of rumor to spread.
We do not have anything to go to court with. Or whatever it is the Governor needs to take action.
We are the action he takes, and I would assume dealing with the rogue (?) house and the drow will fall to us, the deniable assets.
I did think we would proceed with the deal and gather more information, but I expected to hit the distillery or something equally important right afterwards. The point would be to find clues and incriminating evidence, or interrogate the survivors. Our latest source of information made it clear we were never here tonight, so he's hard to reference. We do not have evidence to bring back to the governor... yet.
Edit:
This might be not up to him. He is one greedy bastard, and may have fallen for our ruse hook, line and sinker, but there are more parties to this who might think a deal on such a short notice suspicious, and not all of them are as easily blinded with gold.
Regardless, I too don't think we should bring Leontas to the deal if we go through with it. I still want to hit the distillery though.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
Good point. I've removed Leontas and his crew from my plan.
The governor doesn't need the kind of evidence a police detective or district attorney would expect to close a case. He rules Cassomir like an old school European aristocrat, back when there were real nobility in charge of shit, not the powerless figureheads of modern times. We've magically confirmed there are at least 12 Drow operating in the city by lifting the thoughts directly from the mind of one of their collaborators, and we've confirmed that House Basri knows and is planning to act while also hiding the Drow presence from the authorities.
We took the action to learn all of this that he couldn't take because the tools he had available were either incapable or untrustworthy. If we bring the information to him, he can reach out to House Basri, perhaps by speaking directly to that pretty magical listening device they have in his office? Or he can order a full military engagement, have the distillery cleaned out, and show off how he deals with freaky dark-skinned murder Elves to help end rumors that he's secretly being controlled by them.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
He needs a justification to act against another house, or he will be accused of a political witch hunt.
Note that he can't let rumors run wild.
...so it's the word of a bunch of shady strangers against the nobility? We have nothing but words.
What we need is to kidnap Skal, capture house Basri operative (pirates come to mind), bring back a drow's head (perhaps less ideal, as there are a lot of powers who want to keep it secret), or find some other hard evidence to bring before the governor.
We can go back and update him on our latest findings, but his very next request will be to procure that evidence for him.
Edit: one of the reasons we aren't going to the guards is because we expect them to be corrupt and warn whoever they are working with about the impending raid, letting the big fish slip the net.
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Goldfish
Friendly Spider-Fish Abomination
- Location
- Formerly of the Far Realm
He doesn't necessarily need to act against House Basri. He may just need to reach out to them to make them aware that he knows what's going on and expects to be involved in dealing with the situation.
Maybe, maybe not. If the information isn't enough for him, there are other factions in the city who would be interested, not to mention Pisca's aunt. If he doesn't want the rumors to persist that he's beholden to strange Elves, he will have to act.
I'm not opposed to snatching Skali, or just outright killing him and taking his corpse to the governor for some Speak with Dead action. We'll need to see how the exchange goes for that.
Not quite, think more of a Byzantine provincial Governor, he rules not because his family is necessarily from here (though it helps) but because he was appointed to the position. He is relatively minor nobility who got this job for heroism in battle. Also while the common people like him, outside the Teeth at least, the merchants to not since they are Magpies and he's a Green, the head of the Greens to be exact.
- Location
- Germany
[X] Yes, you could use the help
-[X] Leontas and company, they are used to fighting demons and their servants
I'm not a 100% certain on the larger situation, but it seems to me like the governor would be happier if the Drow die, without much fuss abd tonight, which means by our hand.
After that he can use his political muscle to deal with those who kept them secret, particularly if he has heads to interrogate.
And for us fighting the Drow means more loot. Stuff we are unlikely to be able to buy in the upper world.
-[X] Leontas and company, they are used to fighting demons and their servants
I'm not a 100% certain on the larger situation, but it seems to me like the governor would be happier if the Drow die, without much fuss abd tonight, which means by our hand.
After that he can use his political muscle to deal with those who kept them secret, particularly if he has heads to interrogate.
And for us fighting the Drow means more loot. Stuff we are unlikely to be able to buy in the upper world.
- Location
- Argentina
... I am having a wild idea...
We could extort a fuckton of people around now.
Approach house Basri. Tell them all about what we learned, but explicitly tell them that one of us (probably Sirim), is going to tell the Governor everything we know by dawn if they fight or antagonize us.
You want to keep this quiet? Well, we can help with that. That is the way we get paid by both the elves and the governor for this, and we get elf contacts and probably some PCs to help raid the drow.
We could extort a fuckton of people around now.
Approach house Basri. Tell them all about what we learned, but explicitly tell them that one of us (probably Sirim), is going to tell the Governor everything we know by dawn if they fight or antagonize us.
You want to keep this quiet? Well, we can help with that. That is the way we get paid by both the elves and the governor for this, and we get elf contacts and probably some PCs to help raid the drow.